World of Tanks 1.0 has finally been released and looks better than ever. With improvements in graphics and sound, the entire gameplay experience changes, although the gameplay remains the same!
I have been waiting for version 1.0 of World of Tanks for a long time. A thorough graphics update for the tank game was announced years ago. Now it’s finally here, and I was able to play the new version live in Prague at a pre-launch event.
Of course, I could have played World of Tanks 1.0 earlier on the test server. However, as Wargaming boss Viktor Kislyi wanted, I wanted to wait as long as possible to fully enjoy the new version.
So I was really looking forward to finally entering the room with the PCs in Prague after a few presentations and interviews, where World of Tanks 1.0 was waiting for me.
A Tank Stands in the Woods …
As soon as I sat down at the gaming PC, I noticed the first new feature. Beautiful tanks full of details stand in the start menu in the middle of the woods! Soldiers are bustling in the background; everything feels alive.
In the past, my machines stood around in dingy garages. Parts were everywhere, and no one was in sight. It felt like an abandoned tank base left in a hurry before Blitzkrieg. I never found the old scenery particularly motivating, whereas the new one is much more so.
But enough about the selection menu! Since I was playing on a press account, I could immediately choose the heaviest tanks and I started with a Panther II.
The Full Blast!
A match was quickly found, and the first map was loaded. But it wasn’t the graphics that impressed me first; it was the sound! The intros for the maps have always been impressive, but for 1.0, the sound engineers at Wargaming have done something truly extraordinary.
In 1.5 years, and with the support of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and numerous other artists, atmospheric soundtracks were created that perfectly capture the vibe of each map.
Music Like from a Movie
So also in the map that just opened: Overlord. The map shows the landing site of the Allies in Normandy, and the intro sounds majestic and somehow sad. It also reminds me of the soundtrack from the movie “Saving Private Ryan”.
Later maps impressed me with other excellent intros, including the African desert map El Halluf, inspired by traditional Berber music, or the Scandinavian sounds in “Fjords”.
The Paris map, on the other hand, presents a martial version of the Marseillaise, and “Ruinberg” was inspired by the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach. The Soviet map “Prokhorovka” patriotically calls for battle for Mother Russia, and the Greek music in Cliffs immediately makes me crave gyros, souvlaki, and ouzo!
The Real “War Thunder”
No sooner has the last sound of the intro faded, the battle begins, and the music subtly takes a back seat. The theme of the map is still audible, but less intrusive. Moreover, it dynamically adapts to the situation of the battle. Since nothing has happened yet, the music remains neutral. If the tide turns, the music becomes more threatening or confidently plays in the background when our team gains the upper hand.
But the true star of the soundscape is the many effects that ring out just after the round starts. Suddenly, hundreds of horsepower engines roar in the steel colossi, and with rattling tracks, our team sets off. Effects and music play perfectly together, and I get shivers down my spine.
Soon the thunder of the guns is added, and grenades whistle through the air at supersonic speed. Next to us, a shell strikes with a loud bang. Another projectile hits the angled hull of my tank and ricochets off with a high-pitched screech.
This is how a battle should sound!
The New Graphics are Deadly!
The sound of the new version has already turned out extremely well and provides – especially when you play it for the first time – for a completely different gaming experience. Is this really still the same World of Tanks? Graphically, you can hardly believe it. Already, 25 maps shine in a new splendor and look fantastic.
Especially the new map “Glacier” in 1.0 is a real visual delight! The map is a frozen glacier in the far north. Around a frozen bay lie the gloomy wrecks of destroyed warships. Just as if an epic naval battle in World of Warships had recently gone badly for one side.
Oh My God, the Ice is Breaking!
Before me lies the already mentioned frozen bay, and I drive carefree onto it with my ton-heavy Tiger II. I think to myself, “Lol, the ice should actually break under the weight”.
Then I suddenly see cracks spreading in the ice around my tank! Out of fright, I stop and watch with morbid fascination as my tank stands in the middle of a mesh of cracks. That was a mistake!
Because the ice doesn’t break – it’s just a graphic effect. But my enemies take aim at me and shoot my poor tank to smithereens. So the ice actually killed me!
Wonder Instead of Fighting!
In any case, the graphics and the new Havoc physics effects constantly distract me from the battle. Yes, I should bravely stand by my comrades at the front. But I’m just having too much fun exploring the maps and testing the new effects.
Among other things, I do the following:
- I spend an entire round flattening all the little stone walls around the English farmhouses on the British map “Redshire”. The stones fly around my tank correctly according to physics; it’s a joy!
- On the desert map “El Halluf”, I enjoy speeding through the dunes with a scout tank so much that I flip over at a slope.
- In “Mines”, I shoot at standing tractors to bits and crash through a shed at full speed! The shed spectacularly flies apart in all directions! Yeah!
- Another time, I drive through a pond at 70! The bow wave sprays away from my tank!
The new core engine looks simply great and creates numerous cool details on the screen. Projectiles hit the ground, causing dirt to splash and leaving small craters. Irregularities in the ground are correctly absorbed by the tank tracks’ suspension, and grass and water are pressed down by the shockwave of our muzzle energy.
However, all these effects are purely cosmetic. If you don’t let yourself be distracted, they provide no gameplay advantages or disadvantages. Furthermore, World of Tanks is supposed to run on the same machines as the old version with the new engine.
But probably not with the new ultra settings in graphics.
Conclusion: World of Tanks as I Always Wanted It!
When I played the new version of World of Tanks 1.0 for the first time, it truly felt like I was experiencing the game anew. Sure, fundamentally, it really is the exact same game. Nothing has changed in the gameplay. Everything still runs as before.
But it “feels” like a completely new game. I was almost glad when I got killed because I could immediately see a new map with new music, effects, and settings.
And the new animations on the tanks, as well as the extremely cool sound effects, further contribute to making the “new” World of Tanks feel like a different, more modern game. I’m already looking forward to many battles in the new engine!
Maybe we’ll meet on the battlefield; I’m certainly the tank that always destroys the terrain and stares fascinated at shell craters!
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